Jive
Pop Rock, 2009

As the dust of the eighth season of American Idol settles down, Adam Lambert is everywhere from the American Music Awards to magazines to who knows what else. Quietly, the actual winner of that season, Kris Allen, releases this self-titled debut. Do you remember who he is long enough to buy this album?

Poor Kris Allen. He is easily the first guy in the top three of any season of the show to qualify for the description of “cute”, but despite coming off as a funny and self-effacing young man in his low-key TV appearances and magazine interviews, his music is a different story. The songs in this self-titled debut are harmless and forgettable middle-of-the-road rock-lite songs that enter one ear and exit the other. These songs have decent hooks and charming melodies, but they lack that special something that grabs me and forces me to pay attention. The exception is Alright with Me, which stands out in that it is an unabashedly cheesy singalong song that won’t be out of place in a Modern Talking album.

Kris Allen is a decent and listenable debut, but it’s too bad that this album is also one that is devoid of any charismatic performance and addictive ear candy songs. If they are going to push this bland album out as poor Mr Allen’s debut effort, they could have at least settled on Plan B – have the CD be graced by sexier photos of Mr Allen showing off those biceps or something. He’s the first remotely attractive guy to win that blasted show, so why not capitalize on that?